By Joe Baur
What are you doing Wednesday, January 15th?
Going to Old Stone Church to discuss the future of pedestrian and cyclist safety in the City of Cleveland, of course!
Two months ago I followed up on a Cleveland Scene report that the City of Cleveland would be rolling out a 90-day test of the Parker Smartphone app in Downtown Cleveland. The app helps drivers find available parking spaces on the street rather than driving in circles for 10 minutes, wasting energy and polluting the neighborhood.
At face value, it sounded like another excuse for drivers to look at their phone. I scribbled my concerns and reached out to Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the area of this study, and Reverend Mark Giuliano of Old Stone Church. We had a productive meeting, agreed to reach out to Streetline, the authors of the app, and set up the public meeting the city should have held in the first place.
We all agree that at some level the technology could be very beneficial to the city and residents. Anytime you can get cars off the road and save energy is a plus. But asking pedestrians and cyclists to sacrifice their safety for the convenience of drivers looking for a parking spot is a no-go in my book. Cleveland’s pedestrian culture simply isn’t where it needs to be in terms of deferring to pedestrians. That is to say, drivers don’t always respect pedestrian right-of-way.
Streetline and the City have tried to reassure us, saying they encourage drivers to select their parking space before departing. Great. But we also tell drivers it’s against the law to text and/or drink and drive. People still do it. Besides, what are the chances that a parking space selected at the start of a trip will still be available after a 15 to 20 minute drive from outside the city?
Brittany Blasing at Streetline addressed this concern with me over email, saying “We encourage motorists to a select a green block [at least four spaces available within a given area] whenever possible as it gives you the best possibility of finding an available space.”
Even chasing after four spots seems like a gamble, ultimately leading to the possibility of the driver having to reengage with their phone. Blasing conceded that it might happen.
“In the rare case the blue block [at least two spaces available] turns to a red block [less than two spaces available] while you are en route, you can simply glance at the screen while it’s in its dash mount, and while the car is stationary, and choose an alternate nearby green block.”
Personally, I don’t want operators of a 4,000-pound vehicle traveling between 25-40mph in a heavily trafficked pedestrian and cyclist neighborhood glancing at anything other than the road. Besides, how many drivers put their cell phone into a dash mount when driving? And how many drivers have the patience to pull over when looking for directions?
There are way too many assumptions that the driver will act responsibly. I’d rather error on the side of keeping pedestrians and cyclists safe.
However, there is reason for the city to explore working with Streetline. Their technology is also used to regulate parking meters through real-time rate adjustments. The idea is called “dynamic pricing.” Basically sensors at parking meters give the city an idea of the demand for parking throughout any given day. When parking is in high demand, they can increase the parking rate to reflect that demand, generating greater turnaround in the spaces, and ultimately bringing more people into the city.
The idea of free or cheap parking, which is a myth despite its general acceptance, encourages someone to take a spot and camp out for the day, leaving others to drive in circles for a space or skip the city altogether. Needless to say, Streetline’s sensor technology and dynamic pricing scheme are programs the city should seriously consider investing in.
Have I convinced you? Confused you? Angered you beyond reason?
Then come on down to Old Stone Church on Wed 1/15 at 7 p.m. to discuss this issue and the future of pedestrian/cyclist safety in Cleveland with myself, Councilman Joe Cimperman, Reverend Mark Giuliano and Jacob VanSickle of Bike Cleveland.
Joe Baur is a freelance writer, filmmaker and satirist with a diverse array of interests including travel, adventure, craft beer, health, urban issues, culture and politics. He ranks his allegiances in the order of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the Rust Belt, and enjoys a fried egg on a variety of meats. Joe has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a focus on production from Miami University. Follow him at http://JoeBaur.com and on Twitter @BaurJoe.
Cleveland, OH 44113
One Response to “How We Can Keep Pedestrians and Cyclists Safe in Cleveland”
R. Mark Giuliano
Such an important issue as we try to build cities for people not cars.